The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 stands as one of the most significant and successful acts of Native American resistance against European colonization in North American history. This unprecedented uprising saw the various Pueblo peoples unite to drive Spanish colonizers from New Mexico, fundamentally reshaping the region’s future. From the establishment of the first Spanish colony at San Juan de los Caballeros (now Ohkay Owingeh) in 1598, New Mexico became a Franciscan stronghold, dedicated to converting the region’s Native Americans to Christianity. Conquistador Juan de Oñate, who named the pueblo after his patron saint, John the Baptist, quickly exerted brutal control.
Oñate and his forces compelled the Native Americans from their traditional homes, establishing the capital of the new Spanish province at San Gabriel de Yunque, near another pueblo. The Spaniards altered the existing structures to suit European tastes, cutting doors and windows into the adobe walls. Almost immediately, Spanish soldiers began to pillage area pueblos, seizing anything of value. While Oñate’s primary goal was the discovery of gold and silver, the accompanying missionaries were fervent in their mission to Christianize the indigenous population. For decades, the Pueblo Indians endured a repressive Spanish rule, characterized by forced labor, heavy taxation on their goods, and the systematic suppression of their ancestral religious practices.
Early Resistance: The Acoma Rebellion and Escalating Tensions
The first notable act of rebellion against Spanish tyranny came from the Acoma tribe. In December 1598, a contingent of Spanish soldiers, seeking provisions, arrived at Acoma. Initially received hospitably, the soldiers soon became aggressive, demanding grain from the Acoma storehouses—grain vital for the tribe’s survival through the harsh winter. This provocation led to a fierce confrontation, during which the Acoma warriors killed 13 Spanish soldiers, including Juan de Zaldivar, Oñate’s nephew and commander of the party.
In response, Oñate resolved to make an example of Acoma. He dispatched 70 of his most capable men, led by Vicente de Zaldivar, to attack the Acoma Pueblo. On January 21, 1599, the Spanish troops approached the mesa-top pueblo, where the Acoma defenders unleashed a barrage of rocks and arrows. Despite intense resistance, the Spanish soldiers fought their way to the summit over three days. They managed to bring a small cannon up the mesa, turning the battle into a massacre. Up to 800 Acoma people perished, and their pueblo was left in ruins. Oñate was later tried and convicted of cruelty towards both Native Americans and colonists, resulting in his banishment from New Mexico. He appealed the ruling and was eventually cleared, living out his remaining years in Spain. Years later, Governor Pedro de Peralta established Santa Fe as the seat of government in 1609, constructing the Palace of the Governors in 1610.
The memory of the Acoma rebellion lingered, fueling increased animosity between the Spanish and the Pueblo Indians. The Spanish continued to impose demands for food, clothing, and labor, while simultaneously attempting to outlaw traditional Pueblo religions and disrupt their economy. Franciscan missionaries found the Pueblo people increasingly resistant to baptism, despite the growing number of missions they established throughout the region.
For a period, many Puebloans experienced a relative peace, primarily due to Spanish protection against raiding parties from nomadic Navajo and Apache tribes. However, isolated rebellions against the better-armed Spanish were quickly quelled. By the 1670s, a severe drought gripped the region, causing widespread famine among the pueblos and leading to an increase in attacks from neighboring nomadic tribes. Spanish soldiers, stretched thin, were often unable to defend the vulnerable pueblos. Concurrently, European-introduced diseases ravaged the Pueblo population, significantly diminishing their numbers. Growing increasingly discontented with Spanish rule, the Puebloans turned with renewed vigor to their ancient religions. This resurgence provoked a wave of severe repression from the Franciscan missionaries. While prior missionaries had largely tolerated occasional Pueblo ceremonies if the people also attended mass, this renewed commitment led Fray Alonso de Posada to strictly forbid Kachina dances by the Pueblo Indians. He ordered missionaries to confiscate and burn all masks, prayer sticks, and effigies they could find.
Furthermore, the Puebloans were forbidden, under penalty of death, from practicing their native religions. Any Spanish officials who attempted to curb the Franciscans’ power were often charged with heresy and faced the Inquisition.
The Spark of Rebellion: Popé and the Conspiracy
The simmering tensions reached a critical point in 1675 when Governor Juan Francisco Treviño ordered the arrest of 47 medicine men, accusing them of witchcraft. Four were sentenced to hang; three executions were carried out, while the fourth prisoner committed suicide. The remaining men were publicly whipped and imprisoned. News of these events galvanized Pueblo leaders, who marched en masse to Santa Fe, where the prisoners were held. With many Spanish soldiers engaged in fighting the Apache, Governor Treviño was compelled to release the prisoners. Among those freed was a medicine man from San Juan Pueblo (Ohkay Owingeh) named Popé, who would soon emerge as the charismatic leader of the Pueblo Revolt. Popé relocated to Taos Pueblo and began meticulously plotting with leaders from other pueblos to expel the Spanish invaders.
Before long, a sophisticated and well-coordinated plan was forged for August 1680. Across the upper Rio Grande basin, from north of El Paso to Taos, the Tewa, Tiwa, Hopi, Zuni, Keresan-speaking pueblos, and even some non-pueblo Apache, united in a conspiracy to rise simultaneously against the Spanish.
The initial date for the uprising was set for August 11, 1680. However, the Spanish learned of the impending revolt after capturing two Tesuque Pueblo youths who were carrying messages between pueblos. To prevent the Spanish from preemptively suppressing the rebellion, Popé swiftly ordered its execution on August 10. The plan was to eliminate the missionaries, dismantle the pueblo churches, and kill any settlers who refused to abandon their lands.
The Great Uprising and Spanish Expulsion
On August 10, 1680, the coordinated attack commenced. The Taos, Picuris, and Tewa Indians, among others, rose in their respective pueblos. The warriors killed 21 of the province’s 40 Franciscans and approximately 380 other Spaniards, including men, women, and children. Those Spaniards who managed to escape fled to Santa Fe and the Isleta Pueblo, one of the few pueblos that did not participate in the rebellion. Popé’s warriors, now armed with captured Spanish weapons, swiftly laid siege to Santa Fe, encircling the city and cutting off its vital water supply. Barricaded within the Governor’s Palace, New Mexico Governor Antonio de Otermín soon ordered a general retreat. On August 21, the remaining 3,000 Spanish settlers streamed out of the capital and headed south towards El Paso, Texas. Believing themselves to be the sole survivors, the refugees at Isleta Pueblo also departed for El Paso in September. In the wake of their departure, the Pueblo people systematically destroyed most of the Spanish homes and buildings.
The Aftermath: Challenges and the Path to Reconquest
The Pueblo Revolt effectively ended Spanish rule in New Mexico for the next 12 years. However, the expulsion of the Spanish did not immediately usher in an era of peace and prosperity for the pueblos. A return to their traditional religion did not bring the much-needed rain to alleviate the devastating drought. With the Spanish gone, the Apache and Navajo intensified their raids, increasing pressure on the Pueblo communities. Furthermore, the diverse Pueblo tribes, separated by hundreds of miles and eight distinct languages, found themselves quarreling over who would occupy Santa Fe and govern the land.
Popé, having successfully led the rebellion, attempted to establish himself as the new leader but proved less effective in this administrative role. He sought to obliterate every trace of Spanish presence in New Mexico, famously proclaiming, “The God of the Christians is dead. He was made of rotten wood.” Yet, the pueblo villages remained divided, and many resented Popé, viewing him as a tyrant. Numerous Puebloans who had converted to Christianity opposed the destruction of Christian relics. While the shared opposition to Spanish rule had unified the pueblos, it did not provide the means for them to remain united once their common enemy was defeated. These internal power struggles, compounded by continuous raids from nomadic tribes, persistent Spanish attempts at reconquest, and a seven-year drought, significantly weakened Pueblo resolve and ultimately set the stage for the Spanish to return.
A Spanish force of 300 men attempted to re-establish a foothold in New Mexico in 1681 but was repelled by Popé’s warrior army. Another Spanish effort in 1687 also failed. The following year, Popé died, leaving the pueblos divided and vulnerable.
The Spanish Reconquest and Lasting Legacy
In July 1692, Governor Diego de Vargas initiated a largely successful military and political reconquest, leading an army of 150 Spanish soldiers and pro-Spanish Pueblo warriors. Native American leaders gathered in Santa Fe to meet with Vargas, ultimately agreeing to terms of peace. On September 14, 1692, Vargas formally proclaimed the repossession of New Mexico. Wisely, Vargas offered pardon rather than punishment, and most pueblos gradually submitted to Spanish rule. Only the Hopi, residing in distant Arizona, managed to retain their hard-won independence.
Although the 1692 peace agreement was largely bloodless, Vargas maintained increasingly strict control over the Puebloans in the years that followed. During his brief absence from Santa Fe in 1693, the Puebloans again seized the city. Vargas and his forces staged a swift and bloody recapture, which concluded with 70 executions and 400 Puebloans sentenced to ten years of servitude. In 1696, warriors from 14 pueblos attempted a second organized revolt, killing five missionaries and 34 settlers. Vargas’ retribution was merciless, thorough, and prolonged. By the close of the 17th century, the Spanish reconquest was essentially complete, although the landscape of Pueblo-Spanish relations had been forever altered.
The Pueblo Revolt remains a powerful testament to indigenous resilience and a critical turning point in the history of the American Southwest. It forced the Spanish to adopt more conciliatory policies upon their return, leading to a modified colonial system that granted Pueblo peoples greater religious freedom and land rights. While Spanish rule was eventually re-established, the memory of the revolt instilled a lasting respect for Pueblo autonomy and resistance, influencing the cultural and political dynamics of the region for centuries to come.
